Trump plans to announce TikTok buyer in two weeks

• When pressed by host Maria Bartiromo on who the buyer is, the president said he "will tell you in about two weeks."

Zoom out: The popular social media app has been in limbo for months, repeatedly coming up against a deadline to ban it from U.S.-based app stores, only for Trump — who has his own TikTok account — to extend the ban for months at a time.

• The first extension came on the first day of his second term, followed by another in April when the White House thought a deal to place the app under American ownership was imminent.
• Instead, China balked at the deal and forced Trump to issue a second extension of the ban.
• The third extension — enacted on June 19 — was in yet another effort to push a potential deal over the finish line, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media at a press briefing that day.

Between the lines: Trump offered no details Sunday as to what the deal entails or how quickly it would be completed.

• "I think I'll probably need China [sic] approval," he said. "I think President Xi [Jinping] will probably do it."

Flashback: TikTok has been the subject of scrutiny from Congress — and even Trump, during his first presidential term — owing to concerns that its Chinese owner, ByteDance, has access to the personal data of the millions of Americans who use the app.

• Congress enacted a ban in April 2024 to force ByteDance to sell off its stake in the platform to an American government-approved buyer.
• ByteDance has tied up the case with numerous legal roadblocks, and received something of a reprieve when Trump launched his third presidential campaign and said he was opposed to banning the app.